Liverpool Museums Blog » Hello Sailorhttp://blog.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk
Behind the scenes blog covering National Museums Liverpool’s galleries and museums in Liverpool and Wirral.Fri, 27 Mar 2015 15:07:51 +0000en-UShourly1IDAHO 50http://blog.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/2012/05/idaho-50/
http://blog.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/2012/05/idaho-50/#commentsMon, 14 May 2012 14:18:04 +0000http://blog.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/IDAHO50.aspxMarketing Officer Andrew Winder has news of how National Museums Liverpool will be one of 50 organisations marking the city’s International Day Against Homophobia on 17 May:

“National Museums Liverpool will join Everton FC, Liverpool Cathedral, University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and Merseytravel, amongst many others in support of the worldwide initiative against homophobia and transphobia, lead in Liverpool by Homotopia.

Many of the organisations involved will fly equality flags, host planters containing pansies created by artist Paul Harfleet and programme events.

At National Museums Liverpool, we plan to mark it with a special tour of Hello Sailor! at Merseyside Maritime Museum. The exhibition uncovers gay life at sea, particularly pre-decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967. For many gay people, cruise ships and the merchant navy provided refuge that could not be found on land. A date for the tour of Hello Sailor has yet to be confirmed.

National Museums Liverpool is proud to support Homotopia’s IDAHO 50 initiative and is committed to ensuring that there is lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender visibility in our collections, exhibitions and events.

An explosion of fun, colour and music hits Liverpool for this weekend’s Pride festival. Quite fittingly, a vibrant piece of the city’s history is now on display in The People’s Republic gallery at the Museum of Liverpool, overlooking the Pride Festival’s events at the Pier Head.

This Rainbow Flag represents a very important first in Liverpool. It was flown above Liverpool Town Hall for the first time for the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) on 17 May 2009. IDAHO marks the day in 1990 when the World Health Organisation took homosexuality off its list of mental illnesses. The flag is just one of the many objects that curators seek out to ensure contemporary issues and events in the city are represented for the future. You can see more photos of the flag on Flickr.

The rainbow flag on display in The People’s Republic gallery

Or why not pop into the Merseyside Maritime Museum to find out about gay life on the ocean wave in the Hello Sailor! display.

Hello Sailor! explores the hidden history of gay seafarers from the UK who were onboard passenger and merchant ships between the 1950s and 1980s. During this period, life at sea allowed gay men to be themselves, which stood in stark contrast to the homophobic attitudes back home. The exhibition looks at how the tolerant environment onboard ships encouraged an extraordinary gay culture to develop. The Canadian showing of the exhibition will also give an international, contemporary spin on the subject by exploring the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender seafarers in Canada today.